"Thoughts are fleeting, that's why we write"

Inability Stemming From Reluctance

I’m sure that many of us have come across countless situations in which we found ourselves inferior to others in terms of ability. We feel that we are unable to accomplish as much as others in various common areas of comparison. Be it grades, athletics, arts and or performing arts.

As a result, we fail to even consider the fact that we might have the potential to match up to them if only we truly wanted to from our hearts. Many times, we end up doing things out of the feeling of necessity. Be it the feeling of necessity born from expectations placed on us by others or our hopes of securing a stable income in the future.

We are unable to perform well because we are not doing what we truly want to do. We are so fixated on what others feel we should be doing that we knowingly or unknowingly embark on tasks reluctantly.

Lately, I’ve come to think of this because my reluctance to do specific tasks has become more evident. My reluctance is mainly due to two overlapping factors. One, of course, is my disinterest in the task. The second reason is the fact that I am bad at it and feel that it is not worth the effort to improve.

However, just because I feel that way does not mean I am permitted to not complete what I need to do. Be it as my duty as a student in school (necessity) or an NSF in National Service (mandatory).

The work we are given depending on the position we hold at any point in our lives is crucial to build us up to and bring us closer to where we might want to be. Or if you if already have a goal, where you want to be. We may not always like it, but we have to do it. We can’t progress through life without doing some things we dislike. However, that does not mean that we have to excel at them. We just have to do a decent job.

If I had to use an analogy, I’d compare it to progressing in a game. You don’t have to get a perfect score for every challenge. You just have to pass the stage to advance to the more exciting parts of the game. Or rather, the parts that interest you more.

Of course, doing a “decent job” in itself may be challenging for some of us. Just like it may not always be easy to even clear the minimum requirements to pass a stage in a game. To persevere and continue struggling requires motivation. We need to get rid of our reluctance and find reasons to put in more effort into the task at hand.

Too many of us are reluctant to do the work but feel obliged to do so in hopes of attaining a stable income as mentioned earlier. A stable income to support ourselves or those we care about. Or maybe both. However, we often complain about our work despite knowing that without following the proper procedure (represented by the picture below), it would be difficult to attain any form of success.

We are so reluctant to complete our tasks because we only see it as it is. It may not be directly linked to what we want to do in the future, but it is a small part of the long process of progress. For example, a school may teach things that become irrelevant the moment we complete an examination; however, we all need to go through it. While the knowledge may become obsolete, the skills we could gain through our school experience could very well help us in the future. Be it social skills or skills to study smart so we can pick things up faster in the future.

Many of us often fail to see what lies beyond. Even if we try to envision it, the hardships of the present cloud our vision. All we can see is that we are struggling for something we are uncertain as to whether or not we can even attain.

As we struggle, we witness others who are more talented breezing through the same tasks despite caring as little or even less about them than you do. We end up feeling inferior. Despite it being something that should be expected, we despair over feelings of inferiority. Even though all that does not really matter…

What really matters, is that we find what it is we want to do. From there, dedicate ourselves to it and polish our skills. Only then, we will find it worth comparing ourselves to others. Our comparisons will finally be useful. We will be able to see the difference between ourselves and our rivals, pushing ourselves forward in whatever it is we love to do.

If we really like what we are doing, rivals would simply be a source of inspiration. They would not be a source of discouragement. People only get discouraged when others beat them at something they are reluctant or unwilling to put more effort into. If we truly wanted to, we could dedicate ourselves entirely to improving ourselves at a single task and surpass those above.

We most likely won’t be able to surpass everyone. However, we can at least stand on the same level as those around us.

– K.A.L.T

Do you often get caught up in feelings of inferiority? Those things that you find yourself lacking in compared to others… are they the things you genuinely like and want to do? Or are they things you are doing out of necessity? If it is merely out of necessity to pave a way towards your future in which you can do what you truly want to do, just focus on what you can do. Do your best and only look ahead towards your goal, not those people currently ahead of you. Of course, this is by no means easy. There are many times our view of a bright future may be blocked by all the people ahead of you. However, all we can do is push ourselves to at least complete what we have to do such that we can do what we genuinely want to do. 🙂

If you have any thoughts or perspectives you want to share on this topic feel free to leave a comment below ^^